Custer chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, Black Hills, D.T. [S.D.]) 1880-1890, 1887-05-14
Drtcrana' Gnrncr.
JOE HOOKER"

CeiioiSVIiie' An Engagement tina,
Filled the South With New Hope and
Robbed the Union Forces Of Conf
dence.
Burnside's command of the Army
Of the Potomac terminated on the &
of January, 1868. That command had
been as unfortunate as it was brief. The
dreadful and useless slaughter on the
heights OF fredericksburg and the
abortivc "mud march had almost de-
stroycd the morale of the army. The
general officers took no pains To con
ceal their want of confidence in their
communicable and the common
soldiers deserted al the rate of 200
daily. All that can be urged IN Burn
sides defense is that he had not sought
the command, and had strongly felt
his W incapacity for it. He
fell from the greatness which had been
thrust upon him by the powers ut Wash
ington, but his zeal and patriotism con-
tlnued TO exact the respect Of his conn
trymen, and in a subordinate position
he served the republic until the end of
the a Advancing years now caused
General sumner 10 request retirement,
and General Franklin was shclyed by
the administration as being too friend
~ to General Mcclellan. Thus. Gen
eral Hooker became the senior general
officer, and was appointed commander
in-chief.
The appointment was received with
confidence by the army, and with sat
isfaction by the country. Up to this
time no man i'll the army of the Potomac
had achieved SO enyiable "A repu-
tation. He had been in many battles
AS brigade. division and corps com
mandcr, and had SO borne himself as
to gain the sobriquet of Fighting
joe His frank and manly ways and
his soldierly bearing had gained the
hearts of his men, and he was person
ally known to almost every regiment
in the army. He was egotistical and
sclt-assertive, but he was brave and so
far had shown himself capable. The
world excuses egotism in a man of per
formance. With energy and with skill
he set to work to reorganiZe and re-
habilitate the army. The absentees
were brought back, discipline and IN
struction were vigorously enforced.
and in every department efficiency was
established. The grand divisions of
Burnside were abolished, the army di-
yided into seven infantry corps. and
the cavalry, hitherto distributed by
regiments throughout the army, con-
solidated into II corps. Distinctive
badges were given to the different
corps, and proved to be Of immense
utility III promoting enthusiasm and
esprit de corps. In a brief three months
his administrative skill brought the
army from a consideration of democrat
ization to the highest state of expect
ancy and hope, and proved how neither
cruel wounds nor fortunes bullets nor
bad leadership could destroy
its elastic vitality. Accord
inc to his own high-sound-
ING phrase il was ''thc finest army on
the planet On the 30th of April,
1868. it consisted of 1870, 1000 men under
the colors. for duty and equipped, H.
splendid ability he had fashioned IN
all-potent weapon. We are now to see
how the weapon was welded. The
army was posted on the north bank of
the Rappahannock at Falmouth, among
the Stafford hills, in Il position consid-
cred impregnable. On the opposite
side of the river the army Of northern
Virginia. under General Robert +. Lee,
occupied the heights from Banks Ford
above, to Port Royal below Fredcricks-
burg, a line of about twenty-five miles,
as measured along the river. The
crests Of the hills on which the confcd-
crates lay were from three-quarters of
\ mile to a mile and a half back from
The river, and were SO strengthened
and defended by parapets, epaulments,
and rifle pits as to be i~mpregnable to
an attack in front. Lees army num-
bered 1000 men Of all arms, the very
flower Of the confederate forces, their
morale brought to the highest pitch by
a succession of victories and unbound
ed faith in their generals
An attack in front being ont of the
question, as the disastrous failure of
Burnside had abundantly shown. how
TO turn one or the other of Lees banks
was the problem for Hooker to solve,
and he soon determined that to turn
Lees left was the proper plan of opera
tons. The plan adopted showed a
high order Of strategetic ability, and
has met with Universal approval by all
military writer's.
Preliminary to the main advance of
the army he determined upon acavalry
raid upon Lees communications, for
his general plan involved no less than
the capture and destruction of the o N
Aderate army. On the 18th of April
General Stonen.an, with the cavalry